NRC Letter to CIA on Evaluating Remote Viewing Studies
This one-page CIA-released document is a letter dated May 5, 1995 from Barbara Boyle Torrey, Executive Director of the National Research Council's Commission on Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education, to the CIA's Office of Research and Development at the Ames Building in Washington, D.C. Responding to a CIA request to evaluate its remote viewing studies, Torrey references the NRC's prior 1988 study 'Enhancing Human Performance: Issues, Theories and Techniques,' published by the National Academy Press, which included a section titled 'Scientific Assessment of Remote Viewing.' She quotes that report's conclusion that after roughly 15 years the literature on remote viewing produced only one possibly successful, methodologically flawed experiment, and that the case for remote viewing is 'not just very weak, but virtually nonexistent.' Torrey argues it is not warranted to convene the NRC committee machinery to evaluate a limited set of studies so soon after the last report, and offers the earlier report as guidance for the CIA's own assessment. The document is marked as approved for release in 2003 and appears in the CIA CREST reading room. Names of the CIA correspondents are redacted (SG1I/SG1B markings).
Description
A May 5, 1995 letter from Barbara Boyle Torrey of the National Research Council's Commission on Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education to the CIA Office of Research and Development, declining to convene an NRC committee to evaluate the CIA's remote viewing studies and pointing to the NRC's 1988 report 'Enhancing Human Performance.'
Claims
The NRC declined to convene its committee process to evaluate the CIA's limited set of remote viewing studies so soon after the 1988 report.
95%The NRC's 1988 report concluded that after ~15 years the case for remote viewing is 'not just very weak, but virtually nonexistent.'
95%The NRC declined to convene a committee to evaluate the CIA's remote viewing studies, judging it unwarranted so soon after the prior report.
95%The literature on remote viewing produced only one possibly successful experiment that was not seriously methodologically flawed, providing only marginal evidence for ESP.
90%After ~15 years, the remote viewing literature produced only one possibly successful experiment, itself seriously flawed in methodology, providing only marginal evidence for ESP.
60%By scientific and parapsychological standards, the case for remote viewing is very weak, virtually nonexistent.
60%
Events
May 4, 1995
NRC letter declining CIA remote viewing evaluation request
Torrey responds to a CIA request, declining to convene an NRC committee and citing the 1988 report.
Dec 31, 1987
Publication of 'Enhancing Human Performance'
NRC study assessing paranormal phenomena including a section on scientific assessment of remote viewing.
Apr 17, 2003
Approved for release
Document approved for public release via CIA.
May 4, 1995
NRC letter to CIA declining remote viewing evaluation
NRC responds to CIA request to evaluate its remote viewing studies, declining to convene a new committee.
Dec 31, 1987
Publication of NRC report 'Enhancing Human Performance'
NRC study assessing paranormal phenomena including remote viewing, published by National Academy Press.
Apr 17, 2003
Approved for CIA release
Document approved for release in CIA CREST archive.
Dates mentioned
Keywords
Entities
Organizations
Phenomena
Extracted text (OCR)
Approved For Release 2003/04/18 : CIA-RDP96-00791R000100160004-7 NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL COMMISSION ON BEHAVIORAL AND SOCIAL SCIENCES AND EDUCATION 2101 Constitution Avenue Washington, D.C. 20418 OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR TELEPHIONE: (202) 334-2300 SG1I SG1B SG1I FAX: (202) 334-2201 May 5, 1995 Office of Research and Development, CIA Ames Building, Room 846 Washington, D.C. 20505 Fax: Dear We appreciate your thinking of the National Research Council (NRC) in terms of evaluating your remote viewing studies. As you know, we did a very thorough look at a number of paranormal phenomena in a study entitled Enhancing Human Performance, Issues Theories and Techniques published by the National Academy Press in 1988. One section of that report was entitled "Scientific Assessment of Remote Viewing" beginning on p. 178. The report reviewed the major studies and concluded: "In summary, after approximately 15 years of claims and sometimes bitter controversy, the literature on remote viewing has managed to produce only one possibly successful experiment that is not seriously flawed in its methodology - and that one experiment provides only marginal evidence for the existence of ESP. By both scientific and parapsychological standards, then, the case for remote viewing is not just very weak, but virtually nonexistent. It seems that the preeminent position that remote viewing occupies in the minds of many proponents results from the highly exaggerated claims made for the early experiments, as well as the subjectively compelling, but illusory, correspondences that experimenters and participants find between components of the descriptions and the target sites." The comparative advantage of the NRC is in evaluating a field of research. To put the machinery of the NRC committee process into place for the evaluation of a limited set of studies does not seem warranted so soon after the last report. What I hope is that our recent report will be helpful in guiding your own assessment of remote viewing studies. Please let me know if I can be of help. Barbara Boyle Torrey cc: John Swets Sandy Wigdor Dan Druckman The Natio RRIQY eg. or, Release, 2903/04 UAB nak FARR 98007 A RO0019 91600 9 Ae Prcoring to serve government and other organizations
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